The Saint Louis University men’s soccer team opened their
preseason schedule last night with a 2-2 draw against Loyola
University Chicago at Hermann Stadium.
“I’m a little disappointed in my guys because I think we have a
standard that we have to set for ourselves,”coach Dan Donigan said
after the game.
The Billikens, ranked fourth in College Soccer News’ preseason
poll, got on the scoreboard first, with a goal in the 21st minute
by sophomore forward Will John.
At the end of a series of offensive opportunities that produced
multiple corner kicks for the Billikens, senior back Brett Branan,
a transfer from Clemson, headed down a corner kick by sophomore
midfielder John DiRaimondo.
DiRaimondo then sent the ball over to John–who rocketed the
ball into the top of the net to give his team a 1-0 lead.
A few minutes later the Ramblers evened the score when
midfielders Eric Spiess and Bill Metzger moved in toward the goal.
Metzger was able to slide the ball past a SLU defender over to
Spiess.
He quickly beat Billiken keeper Jeff Sackman for the goal in the
25th minute.
In the minutes following the Loyola goal, the Billikens created
two good scoring chances, only to see neither produce a goal.
First, sophomore midfielder Brian Grazier had a shot stopped by
Loyola keeper Sean Bond. Shortly after, John moved in on goal and
beat Bond, only to see his shot cleared off the goal line by a
Loyola defender.
After the pair of unsuccessful scoring attempts, John scored his
second goal of the night, in the 33rd minute, by capitalizing on a
failed clearance attempt by Bond.
With the ball rolling toward Bond, the Rambler keeper prepared
to clear the ball out of the penalty area, but John ran in toward
the keeper to challenge the clearance attempt.
As Bond struck the ball, John jumped, blocking the clearance
attempt and deflecting it into the lower left corner of the net, to
give the Billikens a 2-1 lead. They held the game at this mark for
the rest of the first half.
The first good scoring attempt for the Billikens in the second
half came in the 71st, when freshman back Tim Ward hit the crossbar
with a shot following a foul on a Loyola defender for taking down
John. A few minutes later SLU freshman keeper Pat Disbennet made a
diving save to push aside a shot from Stephen Graner.
Loyola got the equalizer in the 83rd minute when they took
advantage of a defensive breakdown by the Billikens.
Metzger picked up his second assist of the night, setting up
Matt Marek, who placed the ball past Disbennet from eight yards out
into the lower left side of the net.
SLU had one last chance to net the game winner in the final
minute.
Ward tried to move in on the penalty area, only to be taken down
by a Loyola defender just outside the box. The infraction resulted
in a free kick with only 17.5 seconds left to play in the game.
Unable to successfully negotiate the wall formed by Loyola
defenders, Ward sent the shot over the goal, ending the game in a
2-2 tie.
Time quickly expired and the match ended with the score
remaining locked at dueces.
The Billikens are next in action Saturday night in a preseason
game against Creighton University.
The Blue Jays, who are traditionally a strong team, are coached
by former SLU coach Bob Warming, who coached the Billikens from
1997-2000, which included the school’s most recent appearance in
the NCAA College Cup.
Like the Billikens, the Blue Jays’ season ended in the
quarterfinals of the 2003 NCAA tournament. They enter this season
with a preseason ranking of 27 by College Soccer News.
Creighton will present a good challenge for the Billikens, which
means SLU will have to make improvements in the next couple of
days, leading up to Saturday night.
“We’re not doing anything different than we have any other year,
so they need to be a little more critical and harder on
themselves,” Donigan said. “It’s in their court now.”
Next Up
Who:
Creighton
Blue Jays
When:
Saturday, 7p.m. Hermann Stadium
